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By Sarah Favot, Town Correspondent

About 75 children attended a “Teddy Bear Tea Party” Tuesday at the Endicott Estate, where children were asked to donate a teddy bear and/or create a paper teddy bear that will be donated to a local hospital.

The event was part of Dedham’s “TV Turn Off Week” and “One Town One Book,” in which the town is reading “To Kill a Mockingbird” together.

Janet Reynolds, manager of The Blue Bunny Books and Toys in Dedham Square and one of the organizers of the event, said the event was about teaching children to give to others and learning tolerance, which is a theme in “Mockingbird.”

“We’re going to have two rooms for story time where we are reading stories about compassion and tolerance at a 3-year-old level,” said Reynolds.

The event also involved Catching Joy, a nonprofit based in the Waban section of Newton that promotes volunteerism in children in pre-school and elementary school.

CEO and founder Joy Olaes Surprenant said the teddy bears brought or created by the children will be donated to Children’s Hospital in Boston and Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Parents and grandparents who attended the Tuesday event said it was a great way to spend a rainy morning with their children.

Lynn Muller, of Hingham, comes to Dedham to babysit her grandchildren Charlie, 3, and Olivia, 6. “It’s so wonderful what Dedham is doing,” said Muller. “It’s nice for grandparents to have something fun to do with their grandchildren.”

Angela Sanchez said she brought her daughter Isabella, 3, to the event because she is the only child and gets bored at home. “It’s great that there are activities for her to do,” said Sanchez.

About 50 new teddy bears will be donated to children in the hospitals, as well as many paper teddy bears and get-well cards, said organizers.

The Oakdale Square Alliance and the Dedham Library Innovation Team were also co-sponsors of the event.

Sarah Favot can be reached at sarah.yourtown@gmail.com.
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